Why is Test Marketing Necessary? ~The Power of Summarizing in One Word~

The other day, I was listening to a mini-seminar by a colleague, and
I'd like to share a story that really moved me.

What is test marketing?

When starting a new business,
a very important step is test marketing.

Will it really sell to the target customers at the target price?
Actually, you verify this by doing a smalltest sale,or before that, by showing
samplesorflyersto check for real reactions, and so on.

In reality, you are often puzzled because the reaction is quite different from what you expected.
That's why test marketing is important!!
I want to say that, but
it's also common not to realize its importance until you've experienced it.

Is test marketing really important?

From a professional's point of view, you might think that doing test marketing is a given, but
for someone who has never experienced it, there is the simple question of,
Is it really necessary?

When asked with a straight face, "Is test marketing important?"
how would you answer?

The answer I heard at the seminar that really hit home was...

Because time and funds are limited.

In other words, since small and medium-sized enterprises have limited resources,
the message is: this is no time to be making wasteful investments!

Large companies have the leeway to recover even if they fail a little, but
small and medium-sized enterprises cannot afford to fail many times.

Therefore, test quickly without spending too much money,
and correct your course quickly.
In most cases, course correction is necessary.
It almost never goes exactly according to the initial plan.

"Time and funds are limited."

Be fully aware of that,
and conduct test marketing strategically and systematically!

I was moved by how incredibly easy to understand and persuasive that was (laughs).

You can do test marketing even without a prototype!

Test marketing might sound like a big deal.
But you don't need to go to that much trouble.

It's okay even if you don't have a prototype.
A single flyer, for example.
Handwritten notes, verbal explanations, anything goes.

You could make and show a short video,
and these days, AI might be able to whip one up for you.

Take the idea you have,
and shape it into something that can be understood.

As long as the essence is conveyed, it's fine,
so appearance is secondary lol

Even venture companies that are famous now
often had very simple initial demo videos.

This is an early demo video for the famous file-sharing service 'Dropbox'.
The images are super simple, but it conveys the features concisely.
For test marketing, this is enough.

By the way, it's okay if the system isn't working in the early stages.
As long as you have a demo video, you can do test marketing!
That's all you need!!

Don't invest a lot of time and money based on your own assumptions!
Don't end up in a situation where you make a product and it doesn't sell at all...
Let's test it at an early stage!

This article was written by
Shigeki Kawahara, a 'Future Realization Partner' who helps increase revenue pillars
https://mousoubiz.com/
https://twitter.com/mousoubiz